Third cyclist hit by lorry in Bristol

A cyclist was hit by a lorry this morning in Stokes Croft, the third time in six days that a bicycle and a lorry have collided in Bristol.

The accident happened at 10.20am on the junction of Stokes Croft and Ashley Road as an orange lorry turned left into Ashley Road and hit the female cyclist near the pedestrian crossing.

A paramedic in a rapid response vehicle arrived within five minutes of the first 999 call, and an ambulance arrived at 10.30am.

The cyclist, who is aged in her 20s, was taken to the BRI with leg injuries that are not life-threatening.

Another cyclist who saw the aftermath of the incident, but who did not want to be named, said: "Suddenly there was really load screaming that doesn't stop. Everyone nearby started rushing up, saying, 'what's happened?' and looking around.

"There was a woman on the floor screaming, not much blood. A PCSO ran up and started to look after her, and called for support.

"The nearby shop brought out a blanket and everyone comforted the cyclist until the paramedics and then the ambulance turned up."

He added: "It's too early to assign blame here; the reality is that in any bike/lorry collision, it's the person on the bike who loses. What is obvious, when you look back at the route they were using is that the bike lane leads people on bikes into exactly the wrong place - inside vehicles on the left turn lane.

"That it really is something to avoid. This is a pretty hazardous junction all round."

Comments

well i use that route everyday and i get drivers being annoyed with me by being in the right lane..
i go straight on so i am always in the right hand lane!!
but the cycle lane doesnt.(not like the opposite way by the zetland road crossing!)
also do all drivers like bus,van,lorry,always use there mirrors?
No they dont ive punched the side of a bus before whilst looking at him in his own mirror, did he notice?
NO!!!
p.s. bus drivers have way to much of a heavy foot, are they forgetting the safety of there passengers aswell as other road users?

This crash again highlights the fact that cyclists should always look at the road and what the traffic is doing and then decide whether to use the cycle lane or not. This junction is one where no cyclist should use the cycle lane as the lane next to it is a left turn lane. The answer is to look behind negotiate your way into the line of traffic and go into the junction in the line of traffic. This prevents the driver of the car behind you from overtaking you and if they want to turn left the driver has to wait until you have either passed the left turn or turned into it yourself. This is the safest form of cycling as you are then very visible and can see everything. I cycle like this every day and have so little trouble with motorists and other road users.
Lessons in this sort of cycling are available at the moment for £5 from Life Cycle UK

Louise, also form the Highway Code
Road junctions
72
On the left. When approaching a junction on the left, watch out for vehicles turning in front of you, out of or into the side road. Just before you turn, check for undertaking cyclists or motorcyclists. Do not ride on the inside of vehicles signalling or slowing down to turn left.
73
Pay particular attention to long vehicles which need a lot of room to manoeuvre at corners. Be aware that drivers may not see you. They may have to move over to the right before turning left. Wait until they have completed the manoeuvre because the rear wheels come very close to the kerb while turning. Do not be tempted to ride in the space between them and the kerb.

I don't know whether motorists are as bad as cyclists or worse. Figures show that almost all drivers break the law at some point. For every idiot cyclist on the pavement or going through red lights, there are a dozen drivers breaking the 30 mph limit, driving while on the phone, going through red lights after they've changed and driving and parking on the pavement, blocking cycle paths and ASL red boxes and so on and so on. I suspect the best drivers cycle and the best cyclists drive - nothing like seeing it from the other's point of view!

FROM THE HIGHWAY CODE:
Turning left
182
Use your mirrors and give a left-turn signal well before you turn left. Do not overtake just before you turn left and watch out for traffic coming up on your left before you make the turn, especially if driving a large vehicle. Cyclists, motorcyclists and other road users in particular may be hidden from your view.
183
When turning
¿ keep as close to the left as is safe and practicable
¿ give way to any vehicles using a bus lane, cycle lane or tramway from either direction

I once tried to undertake a vehicle on a motorbike. Sadly for me it turned left and I ended up in hospital. Not only wasn't I paying attention, I got prosecuted for driving without due care as well.
The thing that gets me are the amount of cyclists who think just because they're more vulnerable, somehow they have a moral 'right' to use the roads as they see fit. This attitude isn't helped by a green lobby which labels car drivers as 'planet destroyers' and cyclists as virtuous eco-warriors!
Of course cyclists are more vulnerable; that doesn't however make them more virtuous. Having been in an accident like this, I always check my inside mirror for some twit (as I once was) trying to pass me on the inside. Sadly there are a hell of a lot of twits on bikes in this city who think car drivers = in the wrong and cyclists = good, green, vulnerable and always in the right.
I'm sorry for this lady. Like I've said, I've been there myself. But cycling down a painted lane doesn't confer invulnerability, virtuosity, alter the laws of physics or mean the highway code doesn't apply. She's not going to be the last one either. There are thousands of kamikaze bikers in this city who believe they're entitled to ride wherever and however they want ¿ and it's a bad attitude that'll only get them hurt.

At the end of the day no one can claim to be the perfect driver/cyclist. I do feel though that cyclists should try and realise that the Highway Code applies to them too. Only today one went through a red light by The Bush/Banco Lounge and nearly went into the side of our car. Admittedly he apologised to my wife and I but another time I would have received abuse. And I have lost count of the times I have had to dodge out of the way when a cyclist has gone straight through a pedestrian crossing whilst I have been crossing the road.
A couple of years ago I got knocked over on the pavement on Park Street by cyclist who blamed and threatened me!!
Whilst I accept that motor vehicle drivers need to be aware of cyclists, cyclists need to be aware of their surroundings too.

There is no simple solution to any of this and there will always be finger-pointing.
No-one in each of these 3 groups has the right to claim complete innocence. There will always be drivers who talk on their phones, pedestrians who assume they just have the right to walk into the street at a zebra crossing without looking and cyclists who flout the Highway Code, it's a fact of life.
The Council should work on getting parked cars off the street, providing more cycle lanes and suspending their licences for drivers on their mobiles. Maybe free classes on how to cycle sensibly, and a murder charge if you fatally knock down a pedestrian or cyclist while driving dangerously.
I cycle each day to and from Clifton and Temple Meads and there are some stretches where I will not cycle on the street because I know it'll end up badly -for me, not the driver cushioned by his or her loaded weapon.
If I were allowed to drive it would just add to the congestion and pollution, I see no reason to resent everyone I know who has a licence -I know I'm healthier than them, especially since I beat the bus I would take EVERY day.

Rizzo, like many other cyclists I obey the law when cycling.
However on a daily basis I get motorists cut me up, pass far too closely and endanger me in other ways. This lack of respect for my right to use the road is illegal (dangerous driving or driving without due care and attention).
So because you see some cyclists acting like idiots does that give you the right to behave like an idiot yourself?

Cyclists and motorcyclists are encouraged to undertake vehicles by way of travelling in cycle and bus lanes, this has always been bad practice and extremely dangerous and until Bristol City completely rethink their Transport policy many more accidents and deaths will occur.